New Roles: Tharoor and Pilot Join Congress Working Committee

In a strategic move that reverberates ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Mallikarjun Kharge orchestrates a shakeup within the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

The 85th Plenary Session of the Indian National Congress has yielded a surprise: the induction of Shashi Tharoor and Sachin Pilot as fresh faces in the committee’s ranks.

This bold decision, arriving eight months prior to the electoral showdown, adds a dynamic twist to the political landscape.

Marking the commemoration of the birth anniversary of former PM and Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress party has unveiled the lineup of individuals constituting its paramount decision-making committee.

Sachin Pilot, the Rajasthan leader whose discontent has been evident, has secured a position within the Congress Working Committee, strategically timed in anticipation of the forthcoming assembly elections in the state later this year.

This move reflects the party’s concerted efforts to appease the former Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan, who has notably caused public discomfiture for his own party’s state government, led by his longstanding rival Ashok Gehlot.

Sachin Pilot, Shashi Tharoor (who notably contested against Mallikarjun Kharge in the Congress President election the previous year), Deepa Das Munshi, and Syed Nasser Hussain have emerged as fresh inclusions in the Congress Working Committee.

Holding a significant political history, Ms. Das Munshi once represented West Bengal as a Member of Parliament and is the spouse of the Congress luminary and former Union Minister, the late Priya Ranjan Das Munshi.

Meanwhile, Ms. Hussain, a Rajya Sabha representative, has previously held the role of Congress’s national media spokesperson, contributing to the party’s communications strategy.

Rumors are swirling that Mr. Pilot could potentially be entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing a substantial state, as insiders suggest.

Alongside Shashi Tharoor, Anand Sharma, another prominent figure who had signed the letter put forth by the G-23 faction, advocating for reforms within the party in 2020, has been included in the upper echelons of the party structure.

Expressing his sentiments on X, Shashi Tharoor conveyed his deep sense of honor in response to the party president’s choice to appoint him. He shared that he is both humbled and appreciative of becoming a part of this esteemed institution.

I am honoured by the decision of the @INCIndia President Shri Mallikarjun @Kharge ji and the Congress central leadership to nominate me to the Working Committee. As one who is aware of the historic role played by the CWC in guiding the party over the last 138 years, I am humbled…

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 20, 2023

In the earlier part of this year, the party’s General Secretary (Organisation), KC Venugopal, had expressed the notion that 50% of the party’s officeholders should be below the age of 50.

Presently, merely 3 out of the total 39 CWC members fall within this age bracket: Sachin Pilot, Gourav Gogoi, and Kamaleshwar Patel.

According to sources, it seems unlikely that Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who previously held responsibility for Uttar Pradesh, will be designated as the in-charge of any state.

The members have been selected by the new party’s president, Mallikarjun Kharge, rather than being chosen through an electoral process.

While the Congress’s Steering Committee had previously stated in February that there was a unanimous agreement to empower party leader Mallikarjun Kharge to appoint all CWC members, insiders reveal that this unanimity was not absolute.

Here is the Fresh List Of Committee Members Selected